J.R. Romano should resign as Republican Party leader

J.R. Romano’s tenure as chairman of the state Republican Party should be brought to an end, for the sake of the party and the state of Connecticut.

Party leaders called for Mr. Romano to step down as recently as mid-August, after he failed to come forward with allegations of domestic violence that were circulating about a Republican candidate.

On Thursday, Mr. Romano removed all doubt that he is not fit to lead the state party when he refused to condemn President Donald Trump’s intimation that he wouldn’t go quietly if he were voted out of office in November.

Mr. Trump’s comments on Wednesday should be enough to chill the marrow of any American who believes in the basic principles of democracy. But they didn’t seem to bother Mr. Romano.

A reporter had asked the president if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election. “We’ll have to see what happens,” Mr. Trump responded. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster. ... Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful ... There won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.”

On Thursday, Mr. Trump doubled down, saying that he was not sure the November election could be “honest” because mail-in ballots are “a whole big scam.”

These words should be frightening to anyone of any political party. Deputy House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora knows it, as do other Republicans across the country, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“Generally speaking, a position like that could put us into a crisis,” Mr. Candelora told The Courant on Thursday. “I think that what we need to focus on here now and up to November is that we have a fair process that I think many of these decisions are left at the state level to determine.”

But Mr. Romano, in his typically combative style, said it was “disappointing when The Courant ignores comments like ‘You ain’t Black’ from Joe Biden and ignores comments from Senator Blumenthal like ‘nothing’s off the table,’ whatever that means.”

Mr. Romano appears incapable of acknowledging any defect in the president’s words, even if they are patently antithetical to American democracy.

This wasn’t Mr. Romano’s first gross mistake. In August, Congressional candidate Thomas Gilmer was arrested on domestic violence charges. His primary opponent had shown a video of the incident that led to Gilmer’s arrest to party leaders, and Mr. Romano acknowledged that he’d known about the allegations since May.

Mr. Romano said he never saw the video but said he strongly urged Gilmer’s opponent to take the matter to the police and provided him with the name of a domestic violence counselor to pass along to the victim.

But Mr. Romano himself had a responsibility here, and he ignored it. He didn’t do anything to ensure that the person shown in the video was safe from harm. And he certainly didn’t tell any party members that their candidate for the state’s 2nd Congressional District could be facing an investigation.

In the spring of 2018, when it came to light that thenU.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty helped cover up allegations that one of her staffers had threatened a woman, calls for her resignation were swift, and she decided against running again. It should have been a lesson to anyone in politics that when one is presented with evidence of a crime, the first responsibility is to bring it to the authorities and not assume any police powers of your own.

Mr. Romano failed to do that.

If Mr. Romano is leading the state Republican party, he is leading it in the wrong direction. Connecticut Republicans deserve a leader who can focus the party, help select strong candidates and speak with integrity on national matters.

Mr. Romano is not that person. He should resign.